|  | 8.6 | Network Troubleshooting
| 8.6.2 | Analyze network troubleshooting
Here is an example of this method of troubleshooting. A user on your network calls the help desk to report that their computer can no longer get to the Internet. The help desk fills out the error report form and forwards it to you, the network support department. You call and talk to the user and they tell you that they have done nothing differently than they have always done to get to the Internet. You check the hardware logs for the network and find out that the user's computer was upgraded last night. Your first solution is that the computer's network drivers must be incorrectly configured. You go to the machine and check the network configuration information on the computer. It seems to be correct, so you Ping the server on that subnet. It doesn't connect. The next solution is to check to see if the workstation cable is plugged in, you check both ends of the cable and then try Pinging the server again. It doesn't connect again. Next you Ping 127.0.0.1, the loopback address for the computer. The Ping is successful, so that eliminates a possible problem between the computer, driver configuration, and the NIC card. You decide then that there might be a problem with the server for this network segment. There is another networked computer at the next desk, so you Ping the server's address and the result is successful. This eliminates the server, the backbone, and the server's connection to the backbone as the problem. You then go to the IDF and switch the port for the workstation, go back to the workstation and try to Ping the server again. The solution still does not work. This narrows your search down to the horizontal cabling or the workstation patch cable. You go back to the IDF, put the cable back in the original switch port, get a new workstation patch cable and return to the workstation. Replace the workstation cable, and try to Ping the server again. This time it is successful, so you have fixed the problem. The last step is to document the problem solution on the error report form and return it to the help desk so it can be logged as completed. As you can see this example was a step-by-step process of eliminating the possible causes of the network problem. Each possible problem was addressed in turn and individually eliminated. If you make multiple changes at once, the process can be confused and the solution cannot be precisely identified. As the solutions were implemented and found not to resolve the problem, the data was reevaluated and new problem solutions were formulated. This process continued until the actual problem was found and resolved. The problem was then documented for future use. No matter what type of problems will be encountered on a network system, the process for resolving them will be the same. This is the process that was outlined previously in the chapter.
| Web Links
| Network Management Basics
| 10 Step Universal Troubleshooting Process
| Multi-Platform Troubleshooting